Packages



April 19, 1960 s. L. DAVIS 2,933,132

PACKAGES Filed Feb. 5. 1958 2 SheetsSheet 1 lNVENToE 5) I h A.

S. L. DAVIS April 19, 1960 PACKAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 3, 1958 I I I. a. I. a. I. I. p-

United States Patent PACKAGES Stanley Lewis Davis, Edgbaston, England Application February 3, 1958, Serial No. 712,996 2 Claims. (Cl. 206-42 packages of this general kind for securing the sheets together around more than one article so as to providea cavity or cavities common to a number of articles.

In-the use of such packages it is often required to remove from the package only one article at a time (or a lesser number than the total number of articles contained in a single cavity of the package), and to preserve the remainder against deterioration by atmospheric constituents.

. This result can be attained by the use of known packages of the .kind where individual cavities are provided for each article, but this entails mutilation of the package to the extent of completely removing the parts of both sheets of the package which form the particular cavity enclosing the article to be removed and this is disadvantageous in certain circumstances as for example where it is required to continue to display the package. A further disadvantage also arises in that when a greatly reduced number of articles are left in the package, say one or two, its overall size becomes very much reduced and the package is then easily lost or mislaid. Furthermore it is generally necessary to avoid inadvertent damage to the parts of the package which are not required to be removed, for the sheetsof which the package is composed to be weakened locally along the boundaries separating the individualfcompartments in which the articles are disposed so that the package as a whole tends to become weakened andflexible rendering it unsuitable for display purposes, whilst theoperation of'producing the weakened zones further adds tothe cost of the package to a degree which rjnay not be acceptable where the cost of the articles enclosed is, low.

f A particular example inwhich these factors arise is that of f fli'rits for cigarette lighters (and other lighters pr .a similar nature such as gas lighters); These flints are individually inexpensive and therefore do not justify the production of an elaborate package. Nevertheless retailers do require to display the flints for the purpose of sale and users almost always require to remove only one flint at a time from the package, yet the prolonged exposure of the remainder to atmospheric constituents has been found to resultin a significant deterioration.

' One object of the present invention is therefore to provide a new or improved form of package which can be produced at a cost which is acceptable in relation to low cost articles such as lighter; fiints to be packaged,

which is suitable for display purposes and which permits 2,933,182 Patented Apr. 19, 1960 "ice the flints or other articles to be removed one at a time and the remainder to be re-enclosed.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a package which Without the incorporation of structural modifications will serve for a variety of different kinds of articles and will provide effective and reliable control as to the positions occupied by the various articles within the package.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a package which enables articles contained therein to be isolated from contact with deleterious atmospheric constituents even though the package from time to time be opened for the purpose of removing one or more of the articles.

In accordance with the invention I provide a package comprising a backing member of relatively stiff shapeholding sheet material, a single layer of articles having at least approximately like dimensions in a direction generally perpendicular to said backing member and arranged on the face of said backing member at spaced apart positions, a cover sheet of flexible sheet material which is at least to some extent translucent and of a strength to be rupturable by finger pressure, said cover sheet having its inner face coated with an ever-tacky adhesive and extending over said articles to engage same and hold same in spaced apart positions, said cover sheet being united with said face of said backing member in a boundary zone surrounding said articles.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings where in:

Figure l is a top perspective view of one form of package in accordance with the invention, the articles incorporated therein being lighter flints.

Figure 2 is a view in cross section on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the construction shown in Figure 1.

v Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the re-formation of a sealed boundary around certain of the fiints preparatory toremoval of one of them.

:In the drawings 1 have shown a package containing only four lighter fiints 10, but it is to be understood that normally such package will contain a. greater number, for example, six or twelve, the reduction in the present instance being merely for the purpose of simplifying the disclosure.

The package comprises opposed walls of which one is in the form of a backing member 11 which may be formed of a sheet of cardboard or stiff paper. A typical thickness which may be employed for a flint package is about 0.01 inch. Preferably such paper or cardboard is substantially impermeable to atmospheric constituents, paper or. cardboard having a glaze finish being suitable for this purpose.

The general purpose of the backing member 11 is to confer the required degree of rigidity and stiffness upon the package as 'a whole to render same suitable for display purposes. Another functional characteristic of the hacking member which must be taken into account is that it shall be sufiiciently strong and stiff to ensure that it does not become damaged by tearing during lifting or rupture of the cover sheet as hereinafter described for the purpose of removing one of the flints: 10 so that it continues to be usable to at least the extent of permitting the cover sheet to be re-sealed around the reduced number of flints.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of stifi paper or cardboard for the backing member 11 although this material is especially suitable on account of its low cost and ability to confer the required degree of stifines's' and strength, as well as the readiness with which letterpress or other indications may be marked thereon by printing for the purpose of indicating the nature of or advertising the contents of the package; A possible alternativematerial for the backing member 11 would besheet' plastics material, elgl polyvinyl chloride, the thickness being selectedt'o provide the characteristics above referred to.

The backing member in the finishedform oflthe package" maybe rectangulanin shape, but itwill be understood' that any convenient or desired shape maybe used; In the constructionshown the backing member may have flaps indicated at '12 and 13' which maybe foldedalong each of a pair of spaced parallel fold lines indicated, at 14 and 15 so as to extend over the flints'10. t V The flap 12 may if desired be provided with" sli't's' 20' having their lengths extending obliquely to the-fold line 15 and the flap 13 may incorporate in its free outer edge a slot 21 providing c'ornerp'ortion'sZZ which when the flap 1 3 is hinged about its. foldiline 14 so as to overlie the flap 12 when hinged-about its fold'line 15 so as to overlie ..th'e' flints can be entered into -thef slits 20 for the purpose of retaining the flaps in this posi tion. The whole package is thus in the forin'of a wallet. In association with the backing member 11' is provided a further wall member in the form of a cover sheet 16., The cover sheet is formed from flexible sheetmaterial such as cellulosic film.

Preferably such film' is transparent or translucent in order that the contents of the package may. be visible.

Where it is desired that the .contents of the package should be sealed from the outer atmosphere the film should be. impermeable to atmospheric constituents, but this condition is not essential in respect to all articles in connection with which a package in accordance with" the invention may be employed. 7 v The dimensions of the cover sheet 16 are such that it affords a peripheral margin extending laterally, and endwise beyond the single file row of flints 10; .The pee ripheral margin includes portions 17 at the sides of the row and 18 at the ends of the row which are, contiguous with the backing member 11 and define a'boundary zone extending around'. the flints, the inner'limit of which is indicated by the broken line 25 (Figure 3) and the outer edge of which is determined by the'peripheral edgeof the cover itself. At the inner limit of th'boimdary zone the cover sheet by virtue of the presence of the flints it) is shaped to afford a pocket portion which includes side walls extending generally parallel to and adjacent to the sides of the row-of flints and end. Walls which are disposed adjacent tothe ends of the row, the

former being set at a steep angle, i.e., approximately 90 to the backing member as will be evident from Figure 1 of the drawings. The pocket portion further includes a top wall which extends over the top of the row of flints and is in contact therewith. 1

The inner face of the cover sheet, ie that which is opposed to the face'of the backing member is coated with an ever-tacky adhesive as indicatefdat 23, that is to say an adhesive of the non-drying type which remains tacky over an extended period, for example six months, *when exposed only to the interior cavityv in which the flints are accommodated.

The thickness of the coating 23 is preferably ;such' that it does not impair significantly the transparency or translucency of the cover sheet. a

'The material to be employed for the cover sheet should preferably-be impermeable with respect to atmospheric constituents and I may utilise a plastics material in sheet form, such as polyvinyl chloride or polythene. However, it is to be understood that cellulosic film may also be employed. This material is coated at its underside with an ever-tacky adhesive. One suitable material utilisingjpolyvinyl chloride sheet i that ma uf ct ed by Industrial Tapes Limited and sold under the designation No. 12 Speedfix Vinyl. This thickness maybe increased up to about 0.005", but above this the material may not be capable of being torn or ruptured conveniently.

It will be observed that the cover sheet 16 is stretched fairly tightly over the flints 10 so that the portions19 of the cover sheet intermediate adjacent flints 10 are spaced thereby out of contact with the backing member 11 and this preserves the ability of these portions 19 to become adhesively secured to the backing member at a later date. Certain types of adhesive such asthat employed on the tape previously mentioned lose their adherent' properties orfs'uch properties become reduced Furthermore, it will be understood thatthe coating of the adhesive material may be applied to theface of the hacking member upon which the flints are mounted stead of the cover sheet. Alternatively both the backing member and the cover sheet may beco a ted with materials I which are adhesive in contact with each other.

The presence of the adhesive coating 23 on the inner face of the cover sheet in the specific example illustrated retains the individual flints in their respective positions within the single cavity afforded by the package, such retention being assisted by the fact that the cover sheet 16 is fairly tightly stretched over the flints.

In Figure-4 is illustrated the primary stage in one manner of removing a flint from the packa e. In this case one of the portions 19 of the cover sheet which span adjacent flints 10 is depressed so that the coating 23 of adhesive on its inner face is brought into .eontact with the backing member 11 inbetween the two flints and in this way a sealed boundary is rel-formed around the remaining flints preparatory to removal of the single flint at the end of the row. ii

The spacing between successive. flints should be siifli; cient to permit any of the portions 19 to be depressed into contact with the backing member; The spacing will generally require to be somewhat larger when" it is de sired to perform the depression and re-sealin'g prepare tory to removal of 'a flint than will be the ,case when pressing of a portion 19 inbetweerithe positions occupie'd by a flint just removed fronrthe package and onel'remaining in the package is deferred until after. liftin'g'or rupture of the cover sheet overlying the flintito' be re:- moved and removal of such flint.-

" Even if however, the flint to be removed is as illus trated in Figure 4 left, in position within the package of a row can be performed by depressing the adjacent portion 19 to' eflect rupturing of the cover sheet and thereby enable this flint" to be removed; the pressing operation at the" sametim'e automatically re-formin'g the boundary zone. I V I Conveniently th'eflints- 10 are" arranged in a row in which they are spaced apart from eachother with their axes disposed cross-wise of the row, preferably generally parallel to; each other since this facilitates the pressing down of portions 19 when it is desiredto'reseal the package but other arrangements of the fiints within the chamber 24 defined between the backing member 11 and cover sheet 16 would be possible.

It will be apparent that this operation may be performed without damage or significant damage to the backing member so that the appearance of the package as a whole is not marred to the extent which would be the case were part of the backing member to be torn off, and furthermore any letterpress or other indicia marked on the backing member continues to be present in relation to the flints remaining in the package.

I find that in practice suflicient control in the position of the flints is obtained by merely stretching the cover sheet over the flints as illustrated and that it is not necessary to depress the intermediate portions 19 of the cover sheet into contact with the backing member until it is required to re-form the boundary zone. It is to be understood, however that depression of the intermediate portions 19 could be effected if necessary when the pack age is made.

The area of contact between the adhesively coated inner face of the cover sheet and the flints is not great, so that little if any adhesive becomes applied to the flints or is retained thereon after removal from the package, and the presence of such adhesive as may adhere is found not to prejudice the free sliding of the fiints in the flint guide of the lighters in which they are required to be used.

It may be indicated that for application to other articles these are preferably arranged in the package so as to minimise the area of contact between the adhesively coated sheet and the articles and thereby minimises the retention of adhesive on the articles themselves. Such adhesive should also be selected so that itwill not react chemically with or otherwise impair the useful properties of the article so packaged. The adhesive utilised on the tape mentioned above is believed suitable for a wide variety of applications.

Although in the illustrated embodiment and description reference has been made to a package containing flints, it is to be understood that the invention as defined in the claims is applicable to packages containing other kinds of articles preferably having dimensions in a plane generally perpendicular to the walls of the chamber 24 which are at least approximately equal so 4 that each article is engaged by the ever-tacky adhesive provided on at least one of such walls and is thereby positionally controlled within the chamber.

What I claim then is:

1. A lighter flint package comprising a backing mem- 60 her of relatively stiff shape-holding sheet material substantially impeimeable by the atmosphere, a single layer of lighter fiints arranged on said backing member at spaced apart positions, a cover sheet of flexible sheet material also substantially impermeable by the atmosphere stretched over said fiints to form a pocket portion, said cover sheet being of a strength to be rupturable by finger pressure and having on its inner face a coating of every-tacky adhesive sealing said cover sheet with said backing member along a boundary zone surrounding said flints, positionally controlling said flints, said pocket portion incorporating sufficient sheet material to enable said cover sheet to be re-sealed by means of said adhesive along a re-formed boundary zone surrounding a reduced number of fiints after removal of one or more by rupturing said cover sheet.

2. A lighter flint package comprising a backing member including a portion of substantially plane fiat form and a relatively stiff shape-holding sheet. material, a piurality of lighter ilints arranged in a single file row on said portion with their lengths extending transversely of said ,row and disposed at spaced apart positions, a cover sheet of flexible sheet material which is at least to some extent translucent and of a strength to be rupturable by finger pressure, said cover sheet having its inner face coated with an ever-tacky adhesive and extending over said fiints to be thereby shaped to include a pocket portion in which said flints are disposed, said pocket portion having side walls extending lengthwise of the row of fiints adjacent to respective sides of said row and having and walls disposed adjacent to respective ends of said row, at least said side walls "being set at a. relatively steep angle to said portion of said backing member, said pocket portion further having a top wall in contact with said fiints to hold same in said spaced apart positions by means of: said ever-tacky adhesive, and said cover sheet including a sealing portion lying outwardly of said pocket portion and united with that face of said backing member on which said flints are arranged by said ever-tacky adhesive in a boundary zone surrounding said fiints.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,165,539 Dahlgren July 1], l939 2,667,019 Feyrer Ian. 26, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 515,876 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1939 1,048,145 France July 29, 1953 

